Working Paper: NBER ID: w15715
Authors: Brian A. Jacob
Abstract: This paper takes advantage of a unique policy change to examine how principals make decisions regarding teacher dismissal. In 2004, the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) signed a new collective bargaining agreement that gave principals the flexibility to dismiss probationary teachers for any reason and without the documentation and hearing process that is typically required for such dismissals. With the cooperation of the CPS, I matched information on all teachers that were eligible for dismissal with records indicating which teachers were dismissed. With this data, I estimate the relative weight that school administrators place on a variety of teacher characteristics. I find evidence that principals do consider teacher absences and value-added measures, along with several demographic characteristics, in determining which teachers to dismiss.
Keywords: teacher dismissal; principals; teacher quality; Chicago Public Schools
JEL Codes: I21; I28; J2; J3; J45; J63; J70
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| High absenteeism rates (J22) | Teacher dismissal (J63) |
| Poor evaluations (C52) | Teacher dismissal (J63) |
| Educational qualifications (I29) | Teacher dismissal (J63) |
| Demographic factors (J11) | Teacher dismissal (J63) |
| Age of teachers (A21) | Teacher dismissal (J63) |
| Principal's age (H55) | Teacher dismissal likelihood (J63) |
| New dismissal policy (J63) | Teacher productivity (D29) |